Darwin Nunez’s superb cameo from the bench helped Liverpool lay down an early marker ahead of the new season as they beat Manchester City 3-1 to win the Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.
Many of the headlines ahead of the game were focused on Man City’s new striker Erling Haaland, who was handed the opportunity to impress from the start, but it was Nunez’s late introduction from the bench – including a stoppage-time goal – that swung the game in Liverpool’s favour and grabbed all the plaudits.
Haaland struggled to stamp his mark on the game as Liverpool dominated the early stages, and their early control was rewarded when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-range strike took a flick off the head of Nathan Ake before beating the dive of Ederson and finding the far corner.
City clawed their way back into the game after the break as substitute Julian Alvarez bundled the ball home from close range, with the goal eventually given after VAR overturned an original offside call.
It handed Mohamed Salah the chance to edge the Reds ahead and he made no mistake, firing the ball past Ederson before Nunez capped a superb day for Klopp’s men, heading home from close range as last season’s FA Cup winners secured the first silverware of the season.